The present invention relates to a device for the magnetic treatment of water to reduce the buildup of scale and also relates to a device for the magnetic treatment of liquid and gaseous fuels, such as gasoline, gasahol, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas, oil and the like, in order to improve the efficiency of combustion and reduce the production of air pollutants.
With the energy shortage reaching worldwide proportions, especially with respect to petroleum-based fuels, the need to burn such fuels efficiently has never been of greater importance. Since the automobile is perhaps the largest consumer of petroleum today, significant conservation of gasoline and diesel fuel could be realized if the combustion process were more efficient, thereby enabling greater distances to be driven on a given quantity of fuel. Furthermore, air pollution has increased drastically in recent years due to the expanded use of automobiles and trucks, and there are very significant pressures being placed on industry by governments to produce vehicle engines which emit very low levels of pollutants.
Fuel efficiency and pollution reduction are important, not only in connection with vehicles, but also with heating and electricity generation plants which burn hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil, natural gas, and propane.
Although there has been considerable effort to reduce air pollutants from engines, furnaces, electricity generating installations, and the like, the primary emphasis has been on treatment of the exhaust and stack emissions rather than on devising techniques to burn the fuel more efficiently thereby inherently resulting in the emission of fewer waste products. A beneficial result of more efficient combustion is that the fuel is burned more completely so that fewer hydrocarbon waste products are emitted in the exhaust gases.
The device according to the present invention is useful in increasing the efficiency with which fuel is combusted by treating the raw fuel with a magnetic field. In the case of vehicles, this results in increased mileage, and in the case of heating and energy conversion plants, greater thermal output can be realized for a given quantity of fuel.
The device is also useful for the magnetic treatment of water to reduce the buildup of scale in pipes, fittings and other devices and apparatus through which water flows. A problem which is quite prevalent in systems and apparatus which use large quantities of water, such as boilers, dishwashers, ice machines, and the like, is that of scale buildup on the surfaces which come into contact with the water. This problem is particularly acute in areas where the water has a high mineral content so that it is necessary for the water to be "conditioned" either by chemical action or by magnetic water treatment devices of the general type to which the present invention relates.
One such magnetic treatment device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,951,807, 4,050,426 and 4,153,559. Basically, such device comprises an elongated magnet having a multiplicity of longitudinally spaced poles encased in a non-magnetic jacket and concentrically positioned within a galvanized or black iron casing made of a magnetic material, such as iron. The jacketed magnet may be centered by means of a pair of stepped collars secured thereto which, in turn, are centered by means of a pair of layered inserts. Alternatively, the jacketed magnet may be centered by means of resilient, tapered sleeves, which are wedged between the jacket for the magnet and the galvanized casing.
Magnetic treatment devices generally of this type are well known and prevent corrosion and the buildup of scale by causing the calcium and other minerals present in hard water to form, instead, a loose slurry which can be removed easily from the system by blowdown or flushing. In many applications, such as furnace humidifiers, for example, it is important for the device to be contained within a fairly small housing, and for this reason, available space is at a premium. Furthermore, the effectiveness with which the water is treated depends on the intensity of the magnetic field within the treatment chamber and the effective length of the chamber itself. Accordingly, it is desirable that the chamber be free of any obstructions which may occupy otherwise available treatment space, and for the water to be directed into and completely occupy the treatment chamber as quickly and in as short a distance as possible after it enters the device.
A further consideration is that the strength of the magnetic field produced by the magnet be confined solely to the annular treatment chamber so that all of the available flux will be utilized. An important factor in ensuring this situation is to completely magnetically isolate the magnet from the supporting structure and to complete the magnetic circuit by means of a ferrous casing which surrounds the magnet, and which is also magnetically insulated from the magnet.
In the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,559, the magnet structure is disclosed as being centrally supported within the ferrous casing by means of a pair of non-magnetic, elastic sleeves compressed between and in frictional engagement with the magnet structure and the ferrous casing at opposite ends thereof. Additionally the magnet is frictionally retained within its jacket by a pair of plastic end caps which further insulate the magnet and also serve to prevent water from coming into contact with it thereby causing corrosion. The ends of the inner casing were flared outwardly partially around the ends of the elastic sleeves so as to provide a positive-type lock intended to prevent axial movement between the inner casing and the sleeves.
Although the frictional engagement between the inner casing and plastic end caps and between the inner casing and the elastic sleeves serves to hold the structure in proper position in normal use, a severe jolt to the unit, as by dropping it during shipping or installation, may cause the magnet to shift axially thereby partially or completely blocking one set of the apertures. Obviously, this would prevent the proper flow of water or fuel through the device. Furthermore, it is possible for the inner casing and elastic sleeves to shift as a unit relative to the ferrous casing, and this may also result in partial or complete blockage of one set of the apertures and/or cause the previously annular treatment chamber to become distorted thereby reducing the effectiveness with which the magnetic field treats the water or fuel. Axial shifting of the magnet and the magnet-casing structure may also be caused by a severe water hammer occurring in the water supply system, when the device is being utilized as a water conditioner.
One embodiment of the present invention constitutes an improvement to the devices disclosed above in that the inner casing in which the magnet is encased has its opposite, tubular ends received within recesses in the end fittings, which are dimensioned to provide a snug engagement and to positively lock the inner casing against axial movement relative to the fittings. Since the inner casing is retained immobile relative to the end fittings, which are threadedly secured to the ferrous casing, these elements are maintained in their proper spatial relationship regardless of trauma to the device. This arrangement also provides for less pressure drop because the liquid flows directly into the inner casing with minimal turbulence.
Although receiving the tubular end of the inner casing within recesses in the end fittings positively locks the inner casing against longitudinal movement relative to the end fittings and ferrous casing, on some occasions, difficulty has been encountered in assembling the unit. If the end fittings are screwed on the ferrous casing past the point where the ends of the inner casing are contacted by the bottoms of the recesses in the end fittings, the inner casing will be axially deformed. If this occurs, it is possible that the inner casing could buckle outwardly thereby reducing the volume of the annular treatment chamber, and even exposing the magnet to the flow of liquid if the liquid-tight seal between the inner casing and the ends caps supporting the magnet is disrupted.
As an alternative form of the present invention, the recess in each of the end fittings is replaced by a tapered passage, which has a minimum inner diameter less than the outer diameter of the inner casing, and its maximum inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the inner casing. Thus, as the end caps are screwed onto the ferrous casing, the tapered passages contacts the ends of the inner casing and deform the ends radially inward to a slight degree. This causes the inner casing to seat uniformly on the end fittings and provides a tight seal between the inner casing and the end fittings. Furthermore, the inner casing is prevented from shifting axially because it is tightly compressed by the end fittings. It is generally desirable that the tapered passages continue beyond the axial outer ends of the inner casing so that any further axial shifting of the inner casing will be opposed as the ends thereof are further compressed by the tapered passages.
In order to prevent the magnet from shifting axially relative to the inner casing, portions of the tubular end portions of the inner casing are deformed inwardly so as to form locking projections which would engage the capped magnet and prevent it from moving axially. This, together with the seating arrangement for the inner casing, maintains structural integrity of the unit capable of withstanding severe jolts sustained when dropped during shipping or due to a water hammer when the device is employed as a water conditioner. The structural arrangement according to the invention is also advantageous when the device is used as a fuel treater in vehicles, because the repeated and sometimes severe jolts to the engine as the vehicle traverses rough terrain may otherwise result in movement between the elements making up the device.
Specifically, the present invention contemplates a device for the magnetic treatment of fluids, such as water and liquid and gaseous fuels, which comprises: an elongated, tubular intermediate casing of magnetic materials; an elongated magnet having opposite ends and at least two axially spaced poles; an inner casing of non-magnetic material encasing the magnet and having open, tubular end portions extending beyond opposite ends of the magnet; and a pair of end fittings connected to opposite ends of the intermediate casing and having externally open fluid passages therein. Each of the end fittings includes a recess spaced from and opening toward the magnet with respectively opposite tubular end portions of the inner casing received therein so as to radially space the inner casing from the intermediate casing thereby forming an annular treatment chamber therebetween. The recesses are in fluid communication with the fluid passages of the respective end fittings, and apertures are provided in each of the tubular end portions so as to form fluid flow paths from within the tubular end portions to the treatment chamber. An outer casing made of copper or other suitable material is received on turned down shoulders on the end fittings and is spaced outwardly from the intermediate casing. This serves to prevent the intermediate casing from coming into contact with other ferrous materials when the unit is installed.
In accordance with the embodiment of the invention, wherein the recesses are formed as tapered passages which have a minimum inner diameter less than the outer diameter of the inner casing ends, and a maximum inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the inner casing ends, as the end fittings are threadedly secured to the ferrous casing, the inner casing ends are pressed inwardly thereby forming a snug fit between the inner casing and end fittings. This prevents movement of the inner casing, both in the axial and radial directions. A further advantage to this embodiment is that the length of the inner and ferrous casings and the extent to which the end fittings are threaded onto the ferrous casing are much less critical. This is because the end fittings and inner casing are not in axial abutment, but the end fittings can continue to slide over the inner casing as they are threaded onto the ferrous casing with the only effect on the inner casing being that of a slight inward deformation.
The outer diameter of the inner casing, a dimension which is sometimes difficult to maintain within tolerances, is also much less critical because the ends of the inner casing are automatically sized as they are deformed inwardly by the tapered passage. This relationship is also advantageous from the standpoint of precisely centering the inner casing within the ferrous casing so as to provide an annular treatment chamber which is preferably concentric relative to the magnetic field.